Connectors disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,629,787; 4,252,389 and 4,334,728 include spring means which press conductors on flexible film directly against circuit traces on a circuit board on which the connectors are mounted. Whereas such connectors contain few parts, are reliable and relatively inexpensive, the use thereof is limited to circuit boards having accessible circuit traces for the aforementioned conductor to circuit trace engagement. Accordingly, circuit boards, particularly multi-layer boards, using surface mount or through-hole means intermediate the circuit traces thereon are not able to use these type connectors.
It is, therefore, necessary to provide an electrical connector for flexible film circuitry that can be mounted on a circuit board and which includes discrete contact elements capable of being electrically connected to circuit through holes, plated-through holes or surface mount conductive pads.